Showing posts with label How To Reduce Stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How To Reduce Stress. Show all posts

Belly Fat Is a Warning Sign of STRESS - Are You Paying Attention Before It Gets Too Late?

By Lianda Ludwig 

If the Check Engine light were on in your car, would you go to a mechanic to remove the light? That's what going on a diet is doing in your body. Belly fat, and gaining weight are actually symptoms, and not causes! You are ignoring the underlying reasons for your weight gain. The causes for over-eating are generally Stress, Stress or Stress! And the causes for your depressed metabolism that makes it hard to lose weight, and nearly impossible to keep it off are Stress, Stress and Stress.

Stress, for the rest of the animal kingdom is created by the need for Fight or Flight. Animals are threatened, and need to escape a predator, or they are lunch. Then their stress is gone immediately. Their reaction to stress gave them the ability to get away by slowing or stopping all "unimportant" bodily functions, and shifting energy to the muscles for battle or escape.

Humans rarely have predators that are threatening them, but they have chronic stress: traffic stress, paying the bills stress, too busy stress, taking care of others stress, clothes getting tight stress, and on and on. Or they'll have serial stress: one negative thing after another, like death from a thousand paper cuts.

Either way, your body's continued reaction to stress is not helping you survive like it does in the animal kingdom. It is making your sick by thinning your bones & muscles, slowing digestion and your metabolism, making it harder for you to avoid illness, impairing your ability to think clearly and make good decisions, and so much more.

How can you turn off the stress reaction in your body? Only by turning off your perception and attitude that allows something to stress you. Yes, you choose what you allow to bothers you.
When stress is prolonged and not a short term reaction as in humans, the reaction to the stress in your body is worse than the original stressor!
One of the ways that people mistakenly deal with stress is by using food as a drug to relieve stress. It's not even the type of food you eat that matters, but the act of feeding yourself to fill and emptiness inside you. This type of overeating causes people to gain weight.

People don't over-eat because they are hungry. There is an emotional reason that is causing them to seek "comfort food" as the drug of choice to deal with stress. The result of emotional eating during a stressful time is compounded when the effects of stress slow down your metabolism, and it causes weight gain.

Your body's "Check Engine" light is warning you that if you start putting on some pounds in the way of belly fat, or find yourself eating when you're not hungry, you need to investigate why this is happening. Pay mindful attention to check your stress levels. What is making you feel stressed out? Find a way to relieve the stress that addresses the real issue.

When you manage stress, and the light will go off, and the pounds will go down naturally. But if you are covering up your warning light with a band-aid, you'll be buying larger sized clothes, and that will the beginning of other physical, and emotional problems.

So pay attention: Be mindful, and take care of your stress before your "engine" fails!
Best selling author and Coach-sultant, Lianda Ludwig, M.S. works with overwhelmed, frustrated dieters who have been burned out by repeatedly losing weight only to gain it back time after time. For most dieters, she reports, stress has precipitated weight gain and must be addressed before permanent weight loss it possible. Losing weight is not just about what you eat; it's about what's eating you - and that can even be hidden in your subconscious mind!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

How To Reduce Stress: 3 Relaxation Techniques For Reducing Stress

By Ricky P.O'.Shea

There are a number of different relaxation techniques that can help you reduce stress. In fact anything that "relaxes" you can be considered an effective tool for reducing stress. You see there's more to relaxing than just unwinding and finding piece of mind, it's a process that helps to restore both the mind and body and lessens the burden of daily life.

It doesn't matter if you're really feeling the crippling strains of stress or whether you're just looking for some temporary relief and trying to ease your mind of worry, you'll find applying meditation and related relaxation techniques can have a significant impact on your ability to manage stress and alleviate your mind of your daily worries.

It really isn't that difficult to get started with meditation and associated practices, it's a process and the journey that counts not necessarily the end result. Remember we all have different worries and stresses, most though don't take that much needed time-out to address these concerns! The first step in combating stress is to acknowledge it and allow time to make a few simple changes and make room for a few relaxation techniques.

The following are a few relaxation techniques to help you relieve stress and find peace of mind..

Controlled Breathing
Breathing has long been known and used as an effective means for reducing stress and anxiety. A common example of this is a doctor recommending to a patient to "hyper-ventilate" whenever they experience a panic attack.

For some reason a well oxygenated blood supply has a natural calming effect on both the mind and body. Now there's no need to hyper-ventilate just because you're feeling stressed out and frustrated but taking control of your breathing and taking deep. slow breathes can have a positive impact and help to calm your mind almost instantaneously.

* To practice controlled breathe through your belly and not your chest and focus on filling your diaphragm with oxygen.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation is a process where you consciously go through each group of muscles and tense and relax them to help relieve any built up tension within the body. This is a great technique for those who have demanding office jobs and don't find the time to relieve stress through regular exercise.
When you're feeling stressed take some time to practice progressive muscle relaxation. Experts recommend starting from the feet and working your way up through the body. This technique can be practiced anywhere, even if you're in the office at work just moving your feet in a circular motion constitutes progressive muscle relaxation.

Feng Shui
Have you ever heard of Feng Shui? Do you know what Feng Shui is?
Feng Shui is an ancient tradition that originated in the orient (Japan I think) that centers on filling your home and life with peace and tranquility through nature. It's difficult to explain but Feng Shui focuses on bringing the outdoors, indoors! The idea is to fill your home with things such as plants, colors that represent peace and tranquility and other aspects of nature such as the sound of running water.
Feng Shui also emphasizes promoting a minimal and clutter-less home so that you can relax and unwind. It's hard to unwind at home if it's organized chaos right? You can take Feng Shui as far as you like, each to their own but it is definitely one ancient technique for relaxing worth considering for reducing stress and promoting peace in your life.

There are many ways to naturally alleviate stress, far to many people rely on prescriptions and other pick me ups when the only form of treatment required are natural treatments. Learn to become more aware of your stress and slowly incorporate a few natural coping mechanisms for stress and you'll soon be feeling a whole lot calmer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com